I have the belief that there is nothing a medium rare chocolate chip cookie can’t fix. One that is gooey in the middle, but the edges are slightly crispy (but not too crispy). That is the perfect cookie in my professional opinion. Think of all the individual ingredients that typically go into chocolate chip cookies: flour, egg(s), baking powder and/or baking soda, and salt. These ingredients by themselves are quite gross. The other ingredients such as brown sugar, sugar, butter, and chocolate chips are very delicious, but typically better when combined with other ingredients. When baking chocolate chip cookies, the sweet, salty, dry, and bitter all come together to create something beautiful. Isn’t life like that as well? In life, hardships, grief, waiting, and disappointments feel unpleasant on their own, but they are necessary parts of the recipe. Some seasons of life feel hard, like we can’t catch our breath. Some are as peaceful as a fall morning on the front porch. Some seasons it feels like God’s blessing are pouring down from the sky. Some seasons feel lonely and secluded and we wonder if God hears us. When we’re in the thick of it, it’s hard to see the good of that particular season. However, God takes the bitter and yucky and uses them in the master recipe of our lives. He takes the bitter and makes it sweet. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us “He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also He hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end.” If it feels like you’re currently going through one of those bitter or yucky seasons, trust God. We, as humans, don’t know how things will play out because we don’t know the “recipe.” But God does. Trust that He will use all the ingredients, or seasons that we go through, to create something beautiful.
Fall is my favorite time of the year! I love the way the first cool snap feels. It is like a breath of fresh air, especially when that cool breeze blows, and the leaves start changing and falling to the ground.
I read that the leaves fall off trees to help the tree survive the cold and dry winter months. Leaves lose a lot of water so, without leaves, the tree is able to store water for when the ground freezes and water is hard to find. If they remained on the tree, they would hold snow and ice, which would weigh the tree down.
When they fall to the ground the leaves decompose and enrich the soil with nutrients that will help the tree to stay strong. It is kind of a rest period for the tree which in turn gives the tree strength to come back to life in the spring. This reminds me that every season in nature and life always has a purpose.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:” Ecclesiastes 3:1
It is so easy to let the busyness and worries of this world pull us from the peace of God. The enemy, Satan, likes to attack our minds and lives and keep us so busy that we don’t know if we are coming or going.
The fall season represents a time of rest and renewal. A time to let go of things from the previous season’s burdens and lay them at the feet of Jesus. Like the tree, it is okay to have a season of rest. God wants us to rest.
This isn’t about being lazy but about taking the time to allow God to be God. This honors God because it shows our faith and trust in His provision and protection. When we realize our rest comes from Him, we will experience a season of renewal and it will strengthen us.
We can shed all the burdens that would weigh us down. We can have confidence that each new season whether good or bad is in the hands of our Lord and Savior. We just need to trust and obey, allowing His will and purpose to be accomplished.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
I’ve been studying the biblical fall feasts, and this week families around the world are observing the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). You can read about it in Leviticus 23:33–43 and Deuteronomy 16:13–15.
For seven days, God’s people were told to live in temporary shelters, rejoice before Him, and REMEMBER how faithfully He had provided for them. It was also a celebration of the harvest and everything God had provided.
I’ve been thinking about how intentional God was to make sure His people didn’t forget what He had done for them.
Maybe take a few minutes with your family this week to sit outside, read part of Leviticus 23, and talk about some of the ways God has provided for you. There is SO MUCH to thank Him for!
But this is the part that really got me…
When God told them to celebrate His provision, He specifically included people who could easily be overlooked (Deut. 16:14).
What if remembering how God has provided for us also causes us to look around and ask how we can be part of His provision for someone else?
And that immediately made me think about Rays of Sunshine. ☀️
Sometimes loving our neighbor looks like prayer and encouragement, but aometimes it looks really practical like providing school supplies, clothes, a new pair of shoes, or making sure a child has something to open at Christmas.
Many people probably don’t even realize how often Rays of Sunshine gets to step into those kinds of needs for children in our local public schools.
And let me say this! Daisy would NEVER ask me to use this space to promote Rays of Sunshine. But I love her and what she does through this ministry, and I think it’s important for people to know there is a practical way to help meet real needs right here in our community.
Let our prayer this week be, “Father, thank You for how faithfully You have provided for me. Now show me how I can be part of Your provision for someone else. In Jesus’ name, amen!” Then believe that He WILL show you and obey Him.
If you’d like to help Rays of Sunshine meet needs for local children, you can give through the link in the comments.
Every Monday and Thursday morning for the past year, I’ve had to adjust my car seat. And every time I do, I say a silent prayer of thanks.
I’m so thankful that my husband now drives us—together—to worship the Almighty. (He’s taller than me, so he moves the seat back!)
For 26 years before that, I mostly went alone.
But now, there’s nothing sweeter or more precious than having my husband as my brother in Christ. I was blessed in the fact that he has always been a wonderful husband, father and provider. He never discouraged my faith. But he had not made that full surrender himself.
A lot of ladies (and men) find themselves in a similar situation. Some even carry a much harder burden with a spouse that actively discourages and disparages the faith of their partner.
If this is you, I want to encourage you: don’t give up.
Never stop praying for their hearts to be softened. Never stop being the example they need to see. Never stop loving them as Christ loves the church.
It’s hard to be unequally yoked. That’s why we are warned against it (2 Corinthians 6:14). But if you have found yourself in that position, I encourage you to pray for your spouse and your family. Be the example they need. Let them see your fruit.
Our job is to sow the seeds and pray that it lands on the good soil. (Matthew 13:18-23, Mark 4:13-20, Luke 8:11-15) But like in the parable, it might not…for years, but keep sowing and keep watering and God will give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
Mamas (or Daddies)…keep bringing those babies to church. Even when it’s hard and they’re cranky, you’re cranky, and you feel like you don’t have the support system! Sing to them, study with them, read their Bible storybooks, and pray with them. You’re sowing seeds there, too. And your spouse is observing.
Most of all, do not forget to be humble and patient.
I failed miserably in this regard.
My pride led me to believe I had all the answers and had everything figured out. I had a haughty attitude that was not helpful in winning souls. I was a know it all, goody two-shoes! I was like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)
Once I got that sin of pride in check and learned to communicate more effectively with my husband, we were able to have much better conversations. I could share Jesus with him.
And today, I get to adjust my car seat twice a week because the man I prayed for is sitting beside me on the way to worship. And now we can help one another on our walk.
Don’t give up. Keep praying. Keep loving. Keep being the example. Keep sowing. Keep watering. God is still working.
Lately, I’ve felt a stirring in my spirit that I can’t quite explain. I’ve felt a deeper desire to pray. To pray for people I know and people I don’t. To pray for the Church, our communities, our nation, and especially for a generation that seems to be desperately searching for Jesus. And I keep wondering if I’m the only one feeling it.
I’ve noticed a hunger in so many people for something deeper in our churches. We want worship to be more than a few songs we sing on Sunday. We want to encounter God. We want prayer to be alive. We want Spirit-led worship and a real desire for His presence. I think there comes a point when routine just isn’t enough anymore. Religion without relationship isn’t enough. We want Jesus. Maybe that hunger is part of what God is stirring in us. Maybe He is drawing us closer to Him in the middle of everything happening around us.
We’ve seen enough brokenness. We’ve watched families hurt, people wander, churches struggle, and a generation look for answers in places that can never truly satisfy. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all, but I believe God is reminding us that we were never meant to carry all of it ourselves. We know the One who can. So we bring our families, our churches, our communities, our nation, this generation, and every burden on our hearts before Him.
Isaiah 62:6 says, “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never be silent day or night.” That verse keeps coming back to me. Watchmen don’t look away. They stay awake. They keep watch. They keep praying. And maybe that is what so many of us are feeling right now. Maybe the heaviness we’ve been carrying isn’t meant to pull us down. Maybe it’s drawing us deeper. Maybe it’s a reminder that there are things we are called to pray about instead of trying to carry them on our own.
So let’s answer it. Let prayer rise from our homes, our churches, our cars, our quiet places, and wherever we find ourselves. Let worship become more than something we sing. Let it become part of how we fight, how we surrender, and how we remind ourselves who God is. When we don’t know what else to do, pray. When we don’t know what to say, worship. When we don’t know what is coming, trust Him.
We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow. We may not be able to change everything happening around us, but we can stand in the gap and call on the One who can. Let us be people who do not run from the darkness, but faithfully carry the Light of Christ into it.
If all the weight is on you, your faith is in you. Read that again. I frequently see friends share about the endless list of demands: Be a present mom and a good wife. Be an excellent employee. Run the errands. Keep up with the calendar. Manage the house. Maintain a social life. Make it look easy. Not to mention, read your Bible and serve at church. The comment section is often full of women comforting each other while confessing their inability to keep up and commenting on the load of their life. I can relate…but we have to stop and ask: Why does life feel like a load of bricks if He says that His burden is light? I found some insight in Isaiah 41. Right before the comfort, promise, hope, and help of Isaiah 41:10, there is a heart check and challenge in Isaiah 41:6-7. Isaiah describes the joint-effort of erecting an idol. “Each one helps the other, and says to one another, ‘Take courage!’ The craftsman encourages the metalworker…He fastens it with nails so it will not fall.” SO IT WILL NOT FALL. In my studying, I read that they had to hold the weight of the idol because God wasn’t the one holding it up. They weren’t crafting on His foundation, they were controlling and creating in their own faith. They weren’t building in surrender and obedience, they were searching for a sense of security in themselves. They weren’t establishing altars, they were assembling idols and bearing all the weight. We may not build statues, but we do build lives. Lives that we often attempt to hold up on our own. Lives that are comfortable, controlled, socially acceptable, Christian-looking, but often not Christ-depending. This is my personal conviction 😳🥺 And that’s heavy. It’s heavy holding up life. It’s heavy bearing all the weight. Trying. Striving. Building. Bearing. The good news is that God doesn’t ask us to hold up our lives, He invites us to be held by Him. The hard part is that it requires full surrender and true sacrifice. We have to allow Him to rebuild our lives His way. It requires breaking. crushing, and removal, but it makes room for His strength, help, and freedom. Like Isaiah 41:10 says, I will strengthen you: I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” If life feels heavy, ask yourself: Who holds my life? Who holds me up? Let it be Him. Only Him. Always Him. Here are a few ways I’m putting this into practice: -Asking Him to expose what I’m trying to carry alone or control. Asking Him to break mindsets that break me, like the desire to fit in and keep up. -Allowing Him to continually shift my mindset in marriage. This one is huge and changes the whole rhythm and weight of our home. -Creating space in our schedules and prayerfully asking for permission before piling any more on my plate 🙃🥴 -Letting Him build. Getting out of the way. Trusting Him with the weight. Every single day. ❤️
It’s mid-September now. We are about a month into the new school year, and I just now finally feel like I’m settling in. Whewww. Finally.
“This is not my first rodeo teaching… why can I not get settled into the new routines and schedules?” This has been on repeat in my mind for weeks now. If you know me well, you know I’m a routine girlie down to the minute in every part of every day! I like consistency. I like routine. It’s what works for me.
But it was just this past week that I looked around my classroom at my new group of students and thought to myself, “How lucky am I that I get to come here every day and do THIS?”
That thought really stayed with me throughout that day and several days after. I couldn’t help but think about how these are just kids learning to be kids for the first time—but they get to do it here, in my classroom, with me. What a privilege. What a rewarding job!
As educators, we aren’t only teaching curriculum, how to read, or how to spell words. We are teaching them so much more. We are teaching them how to be kind, how to persevere when it’s not coming easy, how to try again, how to believe in themselves, and how to navigate the world around them.
And while I may be the teacher standing in the front of the room each day, they are also teaching me more things than they will ever realize.
One thing they continue to teach me is that it’s okay that I don’t feel like I have it all together every day. They don’t think any less of me on those days, because they don’t know that I’m feeling that way. They simply see someone who shows up for them each day. Just as Jesus is always there showing up for us.
2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”
He doesn’t ask us to have everything perfectly together before He loves us. His grace is sufficient even on the days when we feel unsettled, overwhelmed, or like we aren’t enough. Where we are weak, He is strong. Where we feel like we are lacking, He is sufficient.
Maybe I’ve been so focused on trying to get “settled” that I forgot I was never expected to have it all figured out anyway.
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Just breathe. Maybe settling in doesn’t always mean having every routine perfectly in place. Maybe sometimes it means slowing down long enough to recognize that God has already placed me exactly where I’m supposed to be. In a classroom full of little people who are learning and growing, He is teaching me, too.
What a gift it is to teach them—and what a gift it is that, in the process, they are teaching me. They are showing me little glimpse of the Lord’s grace and mercy, and that even on the days we don’t have it all together — it’s a-okay!
Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”
Wake up each day, and serve the Lord with gladness. Do it whether you are settled or not. The Lord knows our heart and we are exactly where we are supposed to be and doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing.
Right before school started, Maggie and I took our annual back to school trip. I don’t remember how long we had done this, but these trips were our chance to talk about life, plan out the school year, and ultimately one last vent session before it was time to get back to business. All that kept ringing in my ears for the last few weeks was Pat Green and the lyric “sometimes you need a little hill country” so I carried on and booked the getaway to San Marcos. This would be a trip of basketball, water parks, river tubes, Austin, and one last stop to try to even out my farmer tan—Hamilton pool. Oh and I forgot to mention, this would also be Maggie’s last back to school trip with me as she is trying to decide on where to go for school once she graduates, so I might have been in an emotional/nostalgic state of mind.
As we worked though the destinations, we of course had a blast, but something was different. It seemed everywhere we went there was political unrest, seemingly openly mocking Jesus, and people just unhappy. Fortunately for this trip, we had a lot of window time so Maggie and I got to discuss our faith and we had some very grown spiritual discussions. But as she fell asleep in the car, I started to feel a wave of, “Have I prepared her for this world?,” “Did I shelter her?” “Have I taught her to be unapologetic and faithful? “has God lost control?”
I didn’t sleep well that night and I started to look for a way to get out of the trip to Hamilton Pool. If you’ve never been, it’s a natural limestone grotto with a waterfall and swimming hole—it’s beautiful and worth the trip if you can get a reservation. I checked the morning and night before, fingers crossed that the pool was closed, checked the weather hoping for rain, anything that I could justify just getting home early.
No luck, so we made the drive out to Hamilton pool early morning, hiked down to swimming hole and jumped in. Looking back there were some signs something was about to happen. When I walked in, there were two little boys playing, Judah and Joseph and a mother named Ruth. There was another couple praying and just thanking God for the beauty, and just saying, “How can you look at this and not believe in God (Maggie and I both agreed).
While those signs weren’t obvious at the time, in walked a group of 3. A man in his 30’s who I will say looked like Post Malone, and a gray haired male and female. I talked a little to the younger man as he had several religious tattoos so we talked a little religion, just friendly banter really offering to take group pics and such. He went on to tell me that he was a preacher now after making some unfortunate choices when he was younger, but he’s learned and is redeemed now.
As I swam away to get a better look at the grotto, I could over hear this group’s conversation. I couldn’t hear word for word, but what I found is the lady was his mom, and she was embarrassed and ashamed for her past and kept apologizing to her son. He just lovingly told her how much he loved her and Jesus forgives. She began talking about how beautiful the pool was and that a spiritual place like that surely there are baptisms.
She then said I hope to get baptized here one day. Her son, quick to action asked, “Mom you’ve never been baptized?” I then heard her say that she was a believer but hadnt been baptized but would like to know how to do it, and then asked her son, “Could you baptize me?” At this point, I was unashamedly moving over to witness this. The son said, “Mom, I can baptize you right here right now if you’re ready.” He began to ask her if she believed Jesus died for her sins, if she was a sinner, and believed that Jesus was the only path to eternal salvation, asked a few more questions, then dunked her under the water. Finally, he raised her saying, “Buried with him in baptism, raised to walk in new life!”
I immediately told them congratulations and welcomed them. While the baptism was a great experience to witness, what really made an impression was the son’s response. Gasping for air, like one does when their hearts beating out of their chest and they can’t speak out of pure happiness or excitement, he told me, “I just baptized my mom. I had no idea this was going to happen today. I just love her. I love Jesus!” As he continued to give me the play by play. You could tell they had had a long road together, and he was just pure joy at that point.
That ride home is where I really started to soak in what was about to happen in just a few days. It was also a time that God answered every one of the questions, the doubts, worried I had earlier. Has God lost control, have I prepared my children to take on the world, his answer, Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” He also reminded me, He’s known my kids longer than me—stop worrying. He’s got this. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Basically telling me, He’s been in control. He just let me think I was holding the steering wheel.
This trip taught and reminded me of so many things that I needed and just at the perfect time. I was so encouraged by this family and the willingness to answer God’s call on God’s time, not when convenient to him. It was such an awesome showing of how the Spirit moves and you can’t plan for it—you have to be ready at all times and courageous to act. So my last thought, would I be ready to testify, is my daughter ready to testify if needed, is she ready for this new world? I got one more knock—Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Thank you Hill Country, thank you family, and thank you God!
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.”
Psalms 34:15 NKJV
A couple Sundays ago my pastor used this scripture in his sermon and it has been on my heart since. I knew immediately I would share about it, but didn’t really know at the time how I would share it. I just continued to think about – let it simmer in my heart
Then God showed me.
It was so strange when God brought what I was to share because I was sitting in the middle of the recent Rise & Shine Conference and I was so absorbed by what I was listening to about prayer, but I was hearing from God at the same exact time. How in the world I was hearing Him thru the speaker and also directly from Him was the strangest thing. Somehow I was absorbing both messages. Only God.
I’m about to take off my wife, mom, court clerk and chicken lady uniform and put on a uniform that some still can’t imagine me wearing. I’m putting on my hunting uniform. Yes, all the camo and a backpack full of Christmas Tree Cakes. So, stick with me as I take you to my deer stand.
This one particular time last year I was sitting on my stand and it was getting about time to call it quits and get off the stand. I knew Steven would be coming eventually to get me on my chariot aka the SXS. I had mentally decided I was done hunting as I was watching a doe out of one of my windows and was about to pack up my things.
I watched this doe for a bit and then noticed a dark spot creeping up behind her. However, I assumed it was nothing worth looking at and just nonchalantly put my gun out the window to look thru my scope. Fully expecting it to be a small buck.
The longer I looked thru the scope the more I realized how big this buck really was. It was considered a trophy.
I was so thrown off and started shaking and fumbling around trying to take the safety off. It was in my scope walking closer and closer to me, and the doe he was wanting to be friends with.
Things happened so fast. The doe trotted off into the woods, which meant he started going after her. I had a split second to get the safety off, get him in the scope and be the sharp shooter that I am.🤣
I missed. 😭🦌
I learned what buck fever was on that particular day, but didn’t bring home the prize that brought all those feelings of shaking, fast heart beats and hands sweating.
Now go back to the scripture and read it.
Before I go on let me explain…the righteous. The righteous are the one’s who align with God, who seek His righteousness and His Kingdom first. The righteous are not the “better than though” that put their check mark beside church attendance every Sunday.
If I’m in the Lord’s sight I’m exactly where I need to be for Him to bring me home. His eyes are on the righteous.
When I get my focus on things of this world I’m going to run out of His sight.
The place I want to be is in His sight. I have somewhere I’m going and that place is called Heaven. I want to take as many people with me, but my main focus is getting myself there. I have to stay in His sight to get there.
I have to ask myself what’s gotten me out of His sight? What diverts my attention somewhere else to the point I get out of His sight?
If the trophy buck would have just kept trotting towards me I would have taken him home, but his attention was on the doe and she took a turn, which diverted his attention. He left my sights just that fast. Fast enough I couldn’t make the shot.
Make it your goal as a righteous child of the King to stay in His sight. This world is not our home. We’re just passing thru. While we’re passing thru let’s be the greatest example we can to win other’s over for Jesus.
Right before school started, Maggie and I took our annual back to school trip. I don’t remember how long we had done this, but these trips were our chance to talk about life, plan out the school year, and ultimately one last vent session before it was time to get back to business. All that kept ringing in my ears for the last few weeks was Pat Green and the lyric “sometimes you need a little hill country” so I carried on and booked the getaway to San Marcos. This would be a trip of basketball, water parks, river tubes, Austin, and one last stop to try to even out my farmer tan—Hamilton pool. Oh and I forgot to mention, this would also be Maggie’s last back to school trip with me as she is trying to decide on where to go for school once she graduates, so I might have been in an emotional/nostalgic state of mind.
As we worked though the destinations, we of course had a blast, but something was different. It seemed everywhere we went there was political unrest, seemingly openly mocking Jesus, and people just unhappy. Fortunately for this trip, we had a lot of window time so Maggie and I got to discuss our faith and we had some very grown spiritual discussions. But as she fell asleep in the car, I started to feel a wave of, “Have I prepared her for this world?,” “Did I shelter her?” “Have I taught her to be unapologetic and faithful? “has God lost control?”
I didn’t sleep well that night and I started to look for a way to get out of the trip to Hamilton Pool. If you’ve never been, it’s a natural limestone grotto with a waterfall and swimming hole—it’s beautiful and worth the trip if you can get a reservation. I checked the morning and night before, fingers crossed that the pool was closed, checked the weather hoping for rain, anything that I could justify just getting home early. No luck, so we made the drive out to Hamilton pool early morning, hiked down to swimming hole and jumped in. Looking back there were some signs something was about to happen. When I walked in, there were two little boys playing, Judah and Joseph and a mother named Ruth. There was another couple praying and just thanking God for the beauty, and just saying, “How can you look at this and not believe in God (Maggie and I both agreed). While those signs weren’t obvious at the time, in walked a group of 3. A man in his 30’s who I will say looked like Post Malone, and a gray haired male and female. I talked a little to the younger man as he had several religious tattoos so we talked a little religion, just friendly banter really offering to take group pics and such. He went on to tell me that he was a preacher now after making some unfortunate choices when he was younger, but he’s learned and is redeemed now.
As I swam away to get a better look at the grotto, I could over hear this group’s conversation. I couldn’t hear word for word, but what I found is the lady was his mom, and she was embarrassed and ashamed for her past and kept apologizing to her son. He just lovingly told her how much he loved her and Jesus forgives. She began talking about how beautiful the pool was and that a spiritual place like that surely there are baptisms. She then said I hope to get baptized here one day. Her son, quick to action asked, “Mom you’ve never been baptized?” I then heard her say that she was a believer but hadnt been baptized but would like to know how to do it, and then asked her son, “Could you baptize me?” At this point, I was unashamedly moving over to witness this. The son said, “Mom, I can baptize you right here right now if you’re ready.” He began to ask her if she believed Jesus died for her sins, if she was a sinner, and believed that Jesus was the only path to eternal salvation, asked a few more questions, then dunked her under the water. Finally, he raised her saying, “Buried with him in baptism, raised to walk in new life!”
I immediately told them congratulations and welcomed them. While the baptism was a great experience to witness, what really made an impression was the son’s response. Gasping for air, like one does when their hearts beating out of their chest and they can’t speak out of pure happiness or excitement, he told me, “I just baptized my mom. I had no idea this was going to happen today. I just love her. I love Jesus!” As he continued to give me the play by play. You could tell they had had a long road together, and he was just pure joy at that point.
That ride home is where I really started to soak in what was about to happen in just a few days. It was also a time that God answered every one of the questions, the doubts, worried I had earlier. Has God lost control, have I prepared my children to take on the world, his answer, Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” He also reminded me, He’s known my kids longer than me—stop worrying. He’s got this. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Basically telling me, He’s been in control. He just let me think I was holding the steering wheel.
This trip taught and reminded me of so many things that I needed and just at the perfect time. I was so encouraged by this family and the willingness to answer God’s call on God’s time, not when convenient to him. It was such an awesome showing of how the Spirit moves and you can’t plan for it—you have to be ready at all times and courageous to act. So my last thought, would I be ready to testify, is my daughter ready to testify if needed, is she ready for this new world? I got one more knock—Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Thank you Hill Country, thank you family, and thank you God!
